One plan from forecast to purchase order.
For apparel, footwear and consumer-goods brands that have outgrown spreadsheets. K3 Demand is a focused planning application shaped by K3’s consulting experience, not a replacement for a fully custom consulting project.
Now in early access: we’re taking on a small group of brands at early-access pricing.
- 1Demand forecast
- 2Agreed plan
- 3Inventory & purchasing
- 4Financial impact
Built for brands between spreadsheets and enterprise suites.
- Apparel, footwear and consumer-goods brands planning across many items
- Several channels, suppliers or co-packers, and seasons or promotions to plan around
- A small planning team carrying the plan alongside other work
- Sales, operations and finance each keeping their own version of the numbers
Signs you’ve outgrown the spreadsheet
The buy is finished before finance sees the margin
Stockouts and overstock in the same season
Nobody can say which forecast version the PO came from
Four steps, one connected plan.
Each step uses the numbers from the one before, so the forecast, the buy and the financial plan stay in step.
- 1
Demand forecast
Items sorted by how their demand behaves, and a statistical baseline from your history, ready for your team to adjust.
- 2
Agreed plan
Sales, operations and finance settle one consensus, with every override and its reason kept.
- 3
Inventory & purchasing
Open-to-buy and replenishment show what to order, when, and why. You approve the recommended purchase orders.
- 4
Financial impact
Forecast and actuals to date tracked against the financial plan, so a gap shows while there is time to act.
Two examples, same product.
Both demos use fictional sample data.
Merchandise planning
A footwear brand’s Fall season: consensus by category, open-to-buy by style, and the plan against budget.
Demand, replenishment & production
A beverage brand’s 13-week plan: consensus by pack format, replenishment from three co-packers, and the financial forecast.
See a planning decision take shape.
Follow one sample apparel plan through three steps: the forecast, the buy, and how it tracks against the financial plan. Turn on the demand scenario and watch every step respond.
From last season to an agreed forecast
Compare last season’s units with this season’s forecast.
| Category | Last season | Forecast |
|---|
From the forecast to the buy
Buy = forecast + ending stock target − on hand and on order.
| Category | Forecast | Available | Buy units | PO at cost |
|---|
Forecast against the financial plan
Season sales at retail. Actuals to date are running 3.1% ahead of plan.
| Category | Season plan | Forecast | Gap to plan |
|---|
In practice, a change this size would be reviewed with merchandising and sales before anyone agrees to it.
Illustration with fictional numbers.
Built around the data you already use.
We start with data from your ERP, by flat file or API, plus your planning spreadsheets. During setup, K3 maps them to your planning model. Integration is part of every K3 project, and approved purchase orders go back to your ERP through the same integration.
- Regular extracts from your ERP, by flat file or API
- The spreadsheets you plan in today
- Retailer forecasts and distributor inventory files
- Cleans and shapes the data in Microsoft Fabric or an Azure data lake
- Builds the mapping for your items, locations and calendar
- Checks the numbers with you before planning starts
- One planning model on your own numbers
- Forecast, buy and financials in one place
- Approved purchase orders back in your ERP, which stays your system of record
What setup involves, and who does what.
- Step 1
Discovery
K3: Agree goals, scope and the decisions the plan must support.
You: Your planning lead and an executive sponsor.
- Step 2
Data review
K3: Map your ERP extracts, find gaps, agree definitions.
You: Data extracts and someone who knows them.
- Step 3
Configuration
K3: Set up hierarchies, calendars, versions and the buy logic.
You: Review sessions on your rules.
- Step 4
Validation
K3: Run the plan on your history and reconcile it to known numbers.
You: Sign-off that the numbers match.
- Step 5
Training & launch
K3: Train the team on the live plan; K3 stays on for support.
You: Planners’ time for training.
Once K3 has your data, a working prototype on your own numbers can be ready within a couple of weeks, so you see your plan before you commit to the full rollout. A full setup takes from two weeks for a simpler business to about six for a more complex one.
What the investment covers.
Every brand’s model is different, so K3 gives you a quote after a first conversation. Early-access brands pay less than our standard rates.
| Item | What it covers | How it’s priced |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | The planning model (forecasting, consensus, buying and financial views), hosted for you on Microsoft Azure | Scales with the size of your planning model: items, locations, distributors and data sources |
| Setup | Integration with your ERP, data mapping, configuration, validation and training | A one-time setup fee, scoped for each brand after discovery |
| Support | Help from the K3 planners who set up your model | Included |
| Additional services | Process design, S&OP or pricing consulting | Scoped separately |
Shaped by enterprise planning work.
K3’s consultants have implemented planning on Blue Yonder, Kinaxis, SAP and o9 for enterprise manufacturers, retailers and distributors. K3 Demand brings that discipline to brands that don’t need an enterprise suite.
Client engagements shown on this site are consulting work, not K3 Demand customers.
About K3 Demand
What does K3 Demand include?
Data ingestion, demand classification, a consensus forecast, forecast and actuals against your financial plan, open-to-buy and replenishment, and recommended purchase orders that you approve and send to your ERP.
Does it work with our ERP?
Yes, whichever ERP you run. Integration is part of every K3 project: we connect to your ERP and other systems through flat-file extracts or their APIs, whichever fits, then clean and shape the data in Microsoft Fabric or an Azure data lake. Approved purchase orders go back to the ERP the same way. Every brand’s data is different, so K3 builds that mapping for you as part of setup.
How long does it take to get started?
Send us your data and we can have a working prototype, running on your own numbers in Azure, within a couple of weeks. You see your plan before you commit to the full rollout. A full setup takes from two weeks for a simpler business to about six for a more complex one.
What does it cost?
There are two parts: a one-time setup fee, scoped after discovery, and a subscription. The subscription includes hosting on Microsoft Azure, and it scales with the size of your planning model: how many items, locations, distributors and data sources you plan across. A brand with a few hundred items pays less than one with thousands. Tell us about your business and we’ll give you a quote. Early-access customers pay less than our standard rates.
Is K3 Demand available now?
Yes. K3 Demand is ready to use today and in early access: we’re working with a small group of brands, at lower early-access pricing, while we grow the customer base.
Is support included?
Yes. Support comes from K3’s planners, the people who set up your model.
See K3 Demand on your own numbers.
Tell us about your business and how you plan today. We’ll get back to you within one business day.